Saturday, June 19, 2010

Friday dawned hot but not too humid, but still hot non the less. I hadn't really been thinking when I packed my running clothes the day before and packed a black tank top which was horrible to run in.

All smiles after the race!

We arrived at the race at 5:30pm on Friday to pick up our bib and t-shirts. There was still quite a bit of time before the race actually started, so Brian and I sat down on the grass in the shade. That wasn't a very good idea because my legs became really itchy.

Around 6pm we started warming up and stretching although since the temperature was 85F, I was already sweating. As we ran, I saw lots of other women wearing running skirts and I told Brian that I must have missed the memo to wear a skirt! I really want to try and get a skirt to run in but the stores near me don't offer too many options and I am weary of buying on online because of possible sizing problems??

With 15 minutes to go before the race started, Brian and I lined up close to the start line. Soon we were squeezed in with lots of people, mostly sweaty, shirtless men! EWW...that had to be my least favorite part of the whole race.

The gun went off and I started running. I tend to get really competitive right about at the start of a race and pick out other girls and just start trying to track them down. There was a girl in a pink sports bra who had elbowed her way passed me at the start and I worked to catch up to her. I hit the first mile and past that girl; she obviously had gone out to fast and was dying.

Right about 1.5 miles in I wanted to quit. The rest of the race was a mental battle to maintain a decent pace. The heat had caught up to me and I felt like I was going to throw up. Since we were running through the neighborhood behind the church (St. Greg's) there were a lot of spectators from the houses who had also set up sprinklers. Every time I would try not to run through the sprinkler but often it couldn't be avoided and the shock of the cold water would cause me to catch my breath and not be able to breathe.

Then there was a boy in front of me, he must have been in his teens, and he had an iPod on and since he was listening to his music he couldn't hear my labored breathing right behind me and decided to cut me off, almost causing me to fall over.

I knew there was a hill coming and then it would be pretty much flat to the finish. I thought that a PR was still in reach at this point and tried to pick up the pace but couldn't. The heat was killing me and I was still feeling sick. I passed by some spectators who said "Keep it up Ladies" so I knew there was a woman behind me.

Mile 3: my watch said 20:54 (I think)

I started hauling it to the finish. I really thought I could PR by a few seconds at least if I started going faster. I must have looked like a mix between someone suffering and trying to run fast with her arms. I had been passed by the woman who had been behind me, but then I re-passed her and ran to the finish.

Finish time: 21:41
Overall: 120/1085
Female: 13/450
Age Group: 3/40

I hobbled through the finishers shoot, trying to breathe normally and allow the volunteers to remove my timing chip. Although it wasn't a PR, I am still happy with my time in the race. The minutes ticked by as I waited for Brian to come in. As he came to the finish he looked tired; the heat had really hurt him (and maybe also the lack of training...??) His finishing time was 26:32, slower than last year but still good for him!

Now for Brian's Race recap (in his own words) -We are NOT doing this race next year, it was too hot. I ran, then I felt dizzy so I walked, then I ran again, then I felt dizzy again so I walked, then I saw the finish so I ran to the end. My first mile was in 7:10 and then I passed mile two at 15:10. It was just too hot.

His recap was much shorter than mine! It was hard to run at 7pm since I have been training in the mornings...I guess I need to start running after work a few times a week.
This race really got me thinking about why we race the same distances over and over again. Is there a point where we stop PRing and getting faster??

Anyway - I have rambled on enough about this race! Here are some after photos!

Talk about a cheesy picture! I got a beer mug for my 3rd place age group finish!

Brian and I after the race!

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone has a great weekend and a good Father's Day!!

props on the age group place...I can't imagine doing a race at that time of day during the summer here, it'd be way too hot...pretty much if you don't run before 8am, or after 9pm, your sunk...awesome time, you're speedy....